The single most impressive information available right now comes in the form of screenshots, taken from the actual game. It may be hard to believe, seeing how these look so marvelous and stunning, but it's true. These are in-game shots. Click on the thumbnails to download full-sized versions.


Also, you might wish to take a peek at our section with screenshots from the official trailer.

Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Trailer Screenshots with comments

Screenshot #71	(X-Box) Here we face a dauntless orc stanched in the wake of bloodshed - possibly his own. The interior serving as battleground is brightly illuminated, and otherwise plain, save for architectural flavour.
Screenshot #70	(X-Box) From the shores southwest of the Imperial City's surrounding waters, we get yet another nice view of the outer bounds of the city, beautifully stretching far in the tranquil open air.
Screenshot #69	(X-Box) This shot shows a player character wielding a nice glass sword in combat against a headless zombie -- their arena: a shrine area seemingly caverning in the background.
Screenshot #68	(X-Box) Here we see the player character in combat with a familia foe: the Frost Antronach. The surroundings are interesting as well; in the back, there's a statued figure of what looks to be the emperor in the stone.
Screenshot #67	(X-Box) A nice indoor shot of a room with tables/seats well-suited for a feast before the roaring fire in the back. It also has some particularly fascinating architectural traits.
Screenshot #66	(X-Box) Here's an interesting sight: this axe-wielding player character might have plans to court the fair lady and has suited up in accord with the prospect of her preference for the sort -- or not, in which case there may be danger afoot. The rest of the scene is likely a spot near the Imperial City, and with hills, trees, the river, bridges, the stony road and the city walls lurking in the background, there's still much interesting eye-candy besides the fair lady and her horse to be seen beyond the wielded dwemer axe.
Screenshot #65	Another wide shot, and even more stunning. This one, portraying some ancient forestry and rich flora, is more lusk-seeming, with a gentle touch of mist in the gloom - absolutely gorgeous.
Screenshot #64	The first in a hopefully continuous series of larger, wider and detailed screenshots -- this shot portrays an amazing and nearly panoramic view of forest scenery.
Screenshot #63	Another limning of the ever lush Cyrodiilic outdoors, save for a ruin near the shore acroos the stream that appears to have the shape of a tower foundation. The plantlife flourishes not only on the shore, but also decorates the view of the stream itself.
Screenshot #62	Here's an interesting dialogue shot - featuring also the user interface - where the player character interacts with a Fighters Guild operative. The background is a gathering or dining area of sorts, with a fireplace, miscellaneous decorations, and a female character, fit for combat -- archery-style.
Screenshot #61	A pleasantly illuminated scenery of a township and it's outlying wilderness, with a familiar-looking cathedral standing tall in the background.
Screenshot #60	(X-Box) A very atmospheric shot; this khajiit may just be seeking the attention of the character relaying this atmosphere to us, or mayhaps he wonders what the character is daunted in awe of. Could be the grand sight of ships docked, ready to set sail and boldly go whe-- probably not; what appears to be a marvelous sea-fort; a shop or inn/tavern of sorts, with an inviting sign; or the khajiit himself. In any case, a nice view. :-)
Screenshot #59	(X-Box) A pleasant view, yet also inviting to those with a sense for the mystical and secrets to be found in the gloom. And gloom there is, along with a statue and some lush scenery of the Cyrodiilic forest.
Screenshot #58	(X-Box) Here we have a nice shot of a stats screen, listing a set of minor skills, and a character wielding an axe and equipped with a nice set of armour, both of dwemer origin. The background portrays some familiar, and amazing scenery.
Screenshot #57	(X-Box) A look at ebony armor, as well as the stats screen with a few skills and general controls.
Screenshot #56	(X-Box) A hut in a snowy landscape, probably in the north of Cyrodiil.
Screenshot #55	(X-Box) A look at a cathedral from a nearby forest.
Screenshot #54	(X-Box) An 'Oblivion Gate', from the looks of the surrounding area most likely located in one of the planes of Oblivion itself. Also features an attacking Clannfear.
Screenshot #53	(X-Box) A ghost or wraith in a tomb with a sarcophagus in the background.
Screenshot #52	(X-Box) Here, we have a legit screenshot of the User Interface for Oblivion for the first time. You can see the design is tabbed, with tabs for magic, stats, attributes and the inventory. You can also see the much discussed quest compass, albeit currently not displaying any locator symbols. It is currently unclear whether or not the window can be resized to display more than 6 entries at a time. You also get to see a full set of Daedric armor for the first time.
Screenshot #51	(X-Box) Skeletons emerging from what looks like a castle ruin to attack the player. Also notice the very good looking ebony sword in the players hand.
Screenshot #50	(X-Box) An Argonian citizen in a town mostly consisting of wooden houses, possibly Bravil, Astarsis reckons.
Screenshot #49	(X-Box) An old elvish ruin, situated either in a colder (nordic) region or in the time of winter.
Screenshot #48	(X-Box) A cute deer in a not so dense forest looking innocently in our direction. Grass, rocks, mushrooms and soft sunlight shining through the trees.
Screenshot #47	(X-Box) The city of Kvatch after a devastating attack. Note the horse and rider to the right. Is that rider wearing a hooded cape, or is it just a helmet?
Screenshot #46	(X-Box) The interior of a bookstore with a woman in it, possibly the owner. Makes one wonder what reading books will be like in Oblivion, which will feature a new record number of in-game books.
Screenshot #45	(X-Box) A Daedroth attacking the player in a city ruined by an attack from Oblivion, possibly Kvatch.
Screenshot #44	(X-Box) A statue next to ruins, as seen in the official Elder Scrolls: Oblivion trailer - not something we haven't seen before, but it's nice to see the statue in the proper context and in better light.
Screenshot #43	A nice landscape shot with grassy hills, trees and towering mountains in the background.
Screenshot #42	(X-Box) A group of soldiers -most likely of the Imperial Legion- fighting a group of Clannfear. This screenshot and the corresponding scenes in the Oblivion trailer raise the question whether or not large-scale battles are part of the game.
Screenshot #41	(X-Box) A fierce looking Dremora (Lord?) wielding a very nice looking Daedric Axe. He's standing in front of a portal to Oblivion from which he probably just emerged.
Screenshot #40	(X-Box) A combat scene. As Steve Meister aka MrSmileyFaceDude detailed in a team diary and several forum quotes, combat in Oblivion will be much more involving and interesting than in previous games. You can't really see that in this screenshot, but you can see that the guy in the elven armour has already landed a hit- his sword is blood-stained. The setting is the Ayleidic ruin already seen in other screenshots.
Screenshot #39	(X-Box) A Lich, one of the nastiest kind of undead creatures. These undead wizards/warlocks refused to die and with dark sorcery managed to remain in the realm of the living. There have been no liches in the original Morrowind, and only a few in the Tribunal expansion. However, in other games, they were quite common and terrible opponents.
Screenshot #38	(X-Box) The town of Kvatch -or what's left of it- after a Daedric attack. This scene has also been prominently featured in the official Oblivion trailer. You can see a burning castle in the background, and that a good part of the cathedral in the foreground has collapsed. Also, several houses burnt out. Wonder if they will be rebuilt, or if that particular town will remain like that after the attack?
Screenshot #37	(X-Box) A warrior in steel armour with drawn sword walking on a path through a forest. Makes you wonder if creatures may be hiding in those bushes ahead, just waiting to ambush that guy...
Screenshot #36	(X-Box) The goblin cave from the Oblivion demo shown at E3 2005. In case you haven't read our report on it, check it out here. The goblin in the pit by the camp fire was the one Todd shot using zoom-mode, a skill perk of the marksman skill.
Screenshot #35	A very nice Zombie screenshot, displaying the creature's rotting limbs. According to the developers, a number of different Zombies have been made so they don't all look the same.
Screenshot #34	A human NPC in elven armour in close-up. The setting seems to be that of a nordic-style house.
Screenshot #33	This screenshot offers a good look at what Goblins will look like in Oblivion. It also displays a beautifully decorated blade in the player's hand, obviously made of ebony.
Screenshot #32	This picture shows once again the beautiful city gate of the city of Chorrol. A guard and a man are engaged in a conversation that you can probably eavesdrop on. I wonder about one thing though: is this the outside or the inside? Because stairs leading up the city wall on the outside would be just wrong ;)
Screenshot #31	This picture shows the interior of a dripstone cave with stalagmites and stalactites. Noteworthy are the wet look especially on the ceiling, and the very nice lighting, which seems to consist of reflections from a torch or lamp the player is carrying.
Screenshot #30	Bethesda titled this screenshot as "A nordic town", which doesn't really say all that much. That cathedral looks familiar though. Is this Chorrol, or do cathedrals follow a common style throughout Cyrodiil, or at least parts of it? The house in the foreground looks most interesting, but what's even more fascinating is that there appears to be snow, both on the ground and on the roof of the second house. Does this indicate there will be seasons, or is this just a regional phenomenon?
Screenshot #29	One more forest picture, revealing a few more details about how the wilderness will look like. Can't wait to see all those leaves and branches move in the wind and run across those small hills!
Screenshot #28	Eventide in Chorrol. What else is there to say? The NPCs you see standing before their houses are probably on their way to the local tavern. And holy Sheogorath, is that sidewalk massive or what!
Screenshot #27	Olav's Tavern in Bruma. This is where NPCs come after a hard day's work to relax with a glass of beer and talk about the latest rumors.
Screenshot #26	An NPC targeting the player with a bow in a rather dark cave. Ok, let's see: we have a torch, a sword reflecting the torch's light, barrels (wonder if you can hack them to pieces!) and a female NPC with pretty tight kit. Neat.
Screenshot #25	A disgruntled Dunmer smith - PC Gamer mistook the poor lad for a woman and wrote she needed more sunlight. I'd really like a close-up of that fire.
Screenshot #24	A second deer screenshot. I like how the skin wrinkles in places, makes it look much more realistic. And..is that Chorrol's cathedral in the background?
Screenshot #23	The city gate of Chorrol. Take note of the mountains in the background, the banners flying in the wind and the lighting effects.
Screenshot #22	A very hairy, three-eyed troll hewing at the player. Note the torch in the player's left hand and the beautiful scenery in this Ayleidic dungeon.
Screenshot #21	This shows a deer in a forest made up of large trees. Doesn't this just make you want to climb that rock in the background, breath the fresh air and then take a long walk through it?
Screenshot #20	This shows a few houses in the "upper class section of town. The lower class section is around to the southwest, opposite corner of town." (Gavin Carter). This town mentioned is Chorrol. And...is that an open door?
Screenshot #19	An ogre in a cave. This dude doesn't look like he could win on jeopardy, but he sure packs a punch!
Screenshot #18	This NPC woman has been set to look young using the construction kit, demonstrating the ability to set a visible age for NPCs. Note however that NPCs will not age in-game, nor will the player character. Compare against screenshot #17!
Screenshot #17	This NPC woman has been set to look old using the construction kit, demonstrating the ability to set a visible age for NPCs. Note however that NPCs will not age in-game, nor will the player character.
Screenshot #16	In this shot, we see a knight in elven armour with a beautiful shield and a shining sword standing in front of a ruin.
Screenshot #15	This seems to be an exterior view of the tower of the cathedral we have seen earlier.
Screenshot #14	The much-discussed minotaur!
Screenshot #13	This screenshot shows a dark room in what seems to be some sort of sewer.
Screenshot #12	The inside of a cyrodiilic house with table full of food and other items.
Screenshot #11	First person view of the interior of a dungeon. MrSmileyFaceDude: "Yes, there is a light source in the room not within view of the screenshot, and no, it's not enchanted. What you DON'T see is that the details on the sword are all normal mapped, meaning that they look 3D. Hard to see that when it's not in motion :)"
Screenshot #10	A fearsome daedroth roaming an old ruin.
Screenshot #09	A ruin. This picture has been subject of much speculation. It is definitely not daedric and probably not cyrodiil, but ayleidic. Just a guess, of course.
Screenshot #08	A table with weapons in a Fighters' Guild chapter. Notice the training dummy in the background? Supposedly, it will actually be usable, unlike in Morrowind.
Screenshot #07	A house.
Screenshot #06	A prison cell in the Imperial Dungeon. This might be where the game starts. According to the developers, this dungeon will resemble the one The Elder Scrolls: Arena started in.
Screenshot #05	The nine divines cathedral, interior. Noticed the guy sitting in the front row? You might have to edit the picture for more brightness. You also get a pretty good look at the aedra depictions in the windows.
Screenshot #04	A knight. This could be you! According to Bethesda, this is a picture taken of an actual PC (player character). Notice the realistic hair, facial details and the sword at the side.
Screenshot #03	A rider on horseback. According to the developers, this screenshot was taken very early on. The sky texture changed a lot since then, and the mountains will of course have texture on them in the actual game.
Screenshot #02	A nine divines cathedral with some tombstones and red mushrooms in the foreground. Notice the windows depicting aedra deities!
Screenshot #01	A forest picture. Quote: "Looking at a forest in Oblivion is pretty close to looking through a window in Bethesda's office. The technology used to create these landscapes combines procedural generation of the ground based on soil type and years of erosion, places trees based on species and random growth clustering, and make a grass base on regional patterns, all of which create randomized yet realistic woodlands."